Requirements for a project evaluation and selection methodology

The evaluation and selection of projects is usually referred as critical for the sustainability of the competiveness of organizations, but also as a complex process. If, on one hand, a formal and structured selection process may contribute to the clear communication of objectives and transparency, on the other hand, it may be shrouded with incomplete information and uncertainty about the real potential contribution of projects. The design and development of project selection methodologies should inevitably take into consideration organizational characteristics and constraints. Literature has provided various contributions to this topic, however, their emphasis have been on one or few requirements. This paper presents a review of the requirements for developing and implementing a project evaluation and selection methodology in organizations. This overview can support managers in fine tuning project selection practices in organizations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An integrated framework to support sustainable electricity planning

The changes in the electricity sector along with the need for sustainable development required traditional electricity planning to expand beyond pure financial analysis and even beyond direct environmental impact analysis. The electricity planner has now the task of designing electricity strategies for the future with the view of enhancing the financial performance of the sector while simultaneously addressing environmental and social concerns. However, the integration of the relevant dimensions of sustainable electricity planning poses important challenges to researchers. In addition, to properly deal with the increasing use of renewable energy sources of variable output, traditional optimisation models must be able to integrate the short term operational planning and dispatching process with the long range planning models. This paper proposes a new framework to sustainable electricity planning, based on optimisation models for electricity power planning combined with participatory methodologies for addressing the social dimension of the problem. The effective implementation of this framework is demonstrated for a real case study based on the Portuguese electricity system. The research started from the presentation of electricity generation scenarios for 2020 drawn from a mixed integer linear optimization model. These scenarios were then characterized under different social, economic and environmental impacts, and evaluated according to a multicriteria procedure based on experts’ inputs.This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors –the EU – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project Pest- OE/EME/UI0252/2011

Liberalisation, consumption heterogeneity and the dynamics of energy prices

In this study, the methodology VAR and the cointegration analysis are used to examine the dynamic interaction among the energy prices of the competitor energy sources in a liberalised market. Data from the UK market were applied, and models for the residential and industrial sectors were developed. Our results indicate the existence of long-run relationships between the energy prices before and after the liberalisation, implying the possibility of substitution among the different forms of energy. However, the results appear to be also largely influenced by external variables not included in the models that may be reducing the importance of the energy prices over their own evolution and offsetting the basic substitution relationships. The general results of the Impulse Response Functions, both for the residential and industrial sectors, present low statistical significance, which seems to be due to the still slow rate of adjustment of the energy market to price changes, along with the immaturity of the liberalisation process. Taking into consideration the results, some routes for future research are pointed out, namely the need to include in the analysis variables which would proxy the general state of the economy

Risk management as a strategy for sustainable conservation: studies for the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation’s cultural heritage

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) is a Brazilian public institution that holds a diverse range of collections and historical buildings. A medium-term program was established to implement risk management plans for the Foundation’s cultural property. This paper presents the research outcomes and strategies adopted to mitigate the identified risks. The work’s results have been fundamental for the definition of actions that aim to minimize the need for large-scale interventions in cultural assets, reducing the amount of material and financial resources used and avoiding the removal and replacement of large volumes of preexisting materials, minimizing energy consumption and waste generation

Multicriteria scenario analysis on electricity production

Energy planning is a complex process involving multiple and conflicting objectives with many agents able to influence decisions. This complexity is frequently addressed with the use of multicriteria tools, relying on a set of criteria and different methods to aggregate all the information in a final ranking of the available alternatives. This paper describes the application of a multicriteria decision tool for the analysis of Portuguese electricity scenarios. A set of criteria is proposed aiming to include social, economic, environmental and technical aspects. Criteria weighting was directly addressed considering 5 approaches: equitable weights, financial, technological, social and environmental perspectives. Results indicate that close to 100% RES scenario is the best option under a social perspective, base scenario represents the best option on a technical approach and scenarios relying on natural gas and wind power units are the best options for the electricity system under equitable weights, economic and environmental approaches.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia()The author wish to acknowledge the support of ALGORITMI, a research Centre at the University of Minho. This work is supported by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project PEst- OE/UID/CEC00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Least-cost 100% renewable electricity scenarios

Renewable energy sources (RES) are becoming the main players for the sustainability of the planet and achieving a 100% RES energy system has been attested as a good strategy to go forward in many countries. This target however defies the system to integrate highly variable RES in a system that does not allow for shortage on the energy supply. This work presents a possible 100% RES scenario for an electricity system close to the Portuguese estimating and analysing the economic and technical impacts. The sensitivity of the results to aspects related to RES availability, electricity demand, peak load and interconnection capacity for electricity trading were also analysed. The results highlighted the excess of electricity produced in 100% RES systems and the importance of including interconnection capacity to contribute to overcome this problem.The authors wish to acknowledge the support of ALGORITMI research Centre at University of Minho. This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-OI-0145- FEDER-007043 and FCT - Funda<;iio para a Ciencia e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/I00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predictores clínicos de la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud bucal en los mayores diabéticos

Enquadramento: Avaliar a Qualidade de Vida Relacionada com a Saúde Oral (QVRSO) é crucial no planeamento de programas de saúde, mas é escassa a investigação nesta matéria em populações com patologia crónica. Objetivos: Avaliar preditores clínicos da QVRSO de idosos diabéticos. Metodologia: Estudo transversal em 207 idosos diabéticos no Nordeste de Portugal. Os parâmetros de saúde oral foram obtidos com exame clínico. As 14 questões do Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) forneceram um score de QVRSO que foi dicotomizado em OHIP-14 com e sem impacto negativo. Os modelos de regressão logística forneceram valores ajustados de odds-ratio (OR) e respetivo intervalo de confiança a 95% (IC95%) para preditores clínicos da QVRSO. Resultados: Dos idosos, 84,1% reportaram impacto negativo na QVRSO. De acordo com a análise de regressão logística, o número de dentes naturais posteriores (OR=0,85;IC 95%:0,80-0,92) e a sensação de boca seca (OR=3,30;IC 95%:1,08-10,10) são variáveis preditoras de OHIP-14 com impacto. Conclusão: Este estudo realça a importância de prevenir perda dentária para assegurar a QVRSO nestes idosos. Abstract: Background: The assessment of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) is essential to planning oral health programs, but there is a lack of research on this issue with chronic patients. Objectives: To assess clinical predictors of OHRQoL in older adults with diabetes. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 207 older adults with diabetes in Northeast Portugal. Clinical examination provided data on oral health parameters. OHRQoL was assessed based on the short version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and the score was dichotomised into OHIP-14 with and without impact. Logistic regression models provided adjusted odds-ratio (OR) and respective 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for the clinical predictors of OHRQoL. Results: In this sample, 84.1% of older adults reported a negative impact on OHRQoL. According to the logistic regression analysis, the number of natural posterior teeth (OR=0.85; 95%CI:0.80-0.92) and a feeling of dry mouth (OR=3.30; 95%CI:1.08-10.10) are predictor variables of OHIP-14 with impact. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of preventing tooth loss to ensure OHRQoL in these older adults

Improving and embedding project management practice: Generic or context dependent?

Taking into account the contingency theory, this paper explores the extent to which key project management improvement initiatives and key embedding factors, identified in a previously developed conceptual framework, are dependent on organizational context, namely sector of activity, organization size, geographic area and project types. Therefore, aiming to guide professionals on making use of such framework in their organizations. Statistically significant contextual correlations were looked for in a worldwide sample of 793 questionnaire responses from project management professionals, using Principal Component Analysis, ANOVA test and post-hoc Tukey test. Context related differences found were limited, suggesting that the framework for improving and embedding project management practice is substantially generic. Therefore, the paper shows the explanatory power of the framework, which can be used by any organization independent of its sector of activity, dimension, geographic area and project types, however indicating the existence of slight differences. For example, Information Technology companies might give more relevance to initiatives such as corporate standardization and tailoring of project management processes tools and techniques than Engineering and Construction companies.INCT-EN - Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia para Excitotoxicidade e Neuroproteção(SFRH/BPD/111033/2015

The impact of fuel and CO2 prices on electricity power plans

The increasing uncertainty surrounding the electricity generating sector has implications on the forecasting accuracy and makes sensitivity analysis an essential tool for electricity power planning. The fuel price volatility and the emissions trading schemes represent major sources of uncertainty, as the relative economic interest of thermo power plants and of renewable energy sources largely depends on these two factors. In this paper, an electricity planning model will be used to analyse both these aspects, identifying the relative importance and sensitiveness of the optimal electricity power plans to changes on these parameters.QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, European Union – European Regional Development Fund and Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology

Evaluating future scenarios for the power generation sector using a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool : the Portuguese case

A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool was designed and used to support the evaluation of different electricity production scenarios. The MCDA tool is implemented in a user-friendly Excel worksheet and uses information obtained from a mixed integer optimization model, to produce a set of optimal schemes under different assumptions. Given the input, the MCDA allowed ranking different scenarios relying on their performance on 13 criteria covering economic, job market, quality of life of local populations, technical and environmental issues. The MCDA tool was used by a group of experts and academics with background in economics, engineering and environment. Regarding the totality of results, both the most and least expensive scenarios ranked first the same amount of times. These scenarios were, respectively, “Coal”, relying mainly in new coal power plants and “Maximum Renewable”, relying mainly in new wind and hydro power facilities. The opinions were divided towards these two solutions with different fundamental characteristics: “Maximum Renewable” with costs higher than “Coal” but leading to substantial reduction of the external energy dependency. Sensitivity analysis suggests that, although the costs are regarded as the most important criterion, those who had different rankings in their preferences have different attitudes towards other criteria.This work was financed by: the QREN Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union e European Regional Development Fund and National Funds e Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-011377 and Project Pest-OE/EME/UI0252/2011